Fire extinguisher



Aug. 20, 1940.

F. A. DODELIN FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed July 26, 1938 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY5 Patented Aug. 20, 1940 UNITED STATES FIRE EXTINGUISHER FredAlbert Dcdelin, Glen Ridge, N. .L, assignor to Pyrene ManufacturingCompany, Newark, N. 3., a corporation of Delaware Application July 26,1938, Serial No; 221,280

4 Claims.

'10' adapted to be punctured, as it moves by gravity into operatingposition incident to inversion of the extinguisher, so as to render thecontents of the cartridge available for use as a pressure-gen,- eratingmedium.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improvedextinguisher of the type mentioned and more particularly to provide asimple, reliable and inexpensive operating unit which comprises acartridge cage, piercer, pressure-relief device and vent guard and whichis adapted to be readily attached tothe closure cap of a fireextinguisher so that such unit and such cap constitute a unitaryassembly.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a fragmental, central, vertical, sectionalview of a fire extinguisher embodying the present invention,theabove-identified operating unit being shown in elevation;

Fig, 2 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 but taken at right angles andshowing in section the pressure-relief device and vent guard whichconstitute parts of the operating unit;

Fig. 3 is 'a plan view of the extinguisher as viewed from above in Figs,1 and 2, and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal, sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2.

The fire extinguisher shown as embodying the present invention comprisesa container 5, adapted for the reception of the fire extinguishingliquid to be forcibly expelled therefrom by way of a suitable hose andnozzle unit 6. The container 5 is equipped at its upper end with anexternally screw-threaded collar 1, which affords a filling opening forthe extinguisher. The collar 'l is adapted to receive a removableinternally screw-threaded substantially flat closure cap 8, equippedwith a gasket l adapted to engage the upper end of the collar 1 and thusform a liquidtight seal when the closure cap is screwed down on thecollar.

With the closure cap 8 there is associated an operating unit whichcomprises a cartridge cage, a piercer I4, a pressure-relief device Ianda vent guard 16, all constituting a unitary assembly which is readilyattached to the closure cap 8 which is provided with a central hole forthat purpose.

The cartridge cage includes a pair of substa tially U-shaped' framemembers l'l, between which is slidably held a conventional form ofcartridge l8 normally containing a pressure-generating medium, such ascarbon dioxide, and provided at itsupper or head end with a closurehaving therein a suitable seal, not shown, by which thepressure-generating medium is retained within the cartridge until suchseal is punctured by thepiercer I4 when the cartridge, incident toinverting the extinguisher, moves by gravity into operating positionfrom the position in which it is shown. In order that the cartridge l8may be so guided in its movement under the action of gravity asto insureproper axial alignmentof the puncturable area of the cartridge seal withthe piercer l 4 at the instant the seal engages the piercer, the upperends of the ueshaped frame members I! are so shaped that theyeffectively cooperate with the upper orhead end of the cartridge topositively guide and direct it with relation to the piercer, it beingobserved in this connection that the diametrical spacing of the legportions of the U-"shaped frame members" at their upper ends is such asto allow only a slight clearance between themselves and the upper orhead end of the cartridge as it moves into cartridge-puncturingposition. l The U-shaped frame members I! are constructed from asuitable material, such asgbrass .rods having more or less inherentresiliency, and

normally tend to diverge so that when they are moved into a parallelrelation, as shown in Fig. 2, their spring action may be utilized toeffectively, retain a cage-bottom-forming member in cartridge-supporting position, the cage-bottom-forming member being hereinillustrated as a straplike latch 2|, one end 22 of which is looped aboutand thus hingedly connected to the base portion of one of the framemembers and the other end of which is shaped to provide a hook 24adapted to embrace the base portion ofthe other frame member. held inits position shown by reason of the fact that the'cartridge I8 is ofsuch diameter with'relation to the diametrical spacing of the legportions of the U-shaped frame members that, despite the substantialclearance which is afforded between the frame members and the cartridge,it is impossible, while 'the cartridge is positioned as shown in Figs. 1and .2, to spring the frame-like Additionally, the latch 2| is normallymembers suficiently close together to permit the release of the latch.However, the clearance afforded between the frame members I! and thecartridge [8 is ample, when the cartridge is moved to a somewhatelevated position with relation to its position as shown in Figs. 1 and2, to permit the frame members to be sprung close enough together toallow the latch to be released, thus permitting the latch to be movedupwardly and then downwardly about its hinge connection. Upon releasingthe latch 2 l, the cartridge It may be readily removed from the cage;and when inserting the cartridge the latch 2| may be closed, whilemaintaining the cartridge sufliciently elevated, by carrying out theconverse of the latchreleasing operations just described.

The vent guard [6, with which the cage is permanently associated,includes a body member having upper and lower disc-like headers 25 and26 which are spaced from each other and are connected together by aplurality of webs, 2?, within and to which are secured the upper ends ofthe frame members IT. The webs 21 are disposed slightly inwardly of theperipheral edges of the headers 25 and 28, and near the outer margins ofthe headers are flange-like ledges 28 between which is confined anannular screen 30.

Attached to the center of the header 26 is the piercer it, which may beof any approved form; and the header 25 is provided with a tubularnipple 3 l which is accommodated within an opening formed in the closurecap 8 where it is held by a retaining nut 32. Thus the vent guard I6,together with its associated cartridge cage, may be attached to theclosure cap 8 of the fire extinguisher. In order that a gas-tight unionbetween the closure cap 8 and the top of the vent guard it may beafforded, a suitable gasket, not shown, may be introduced between theclosure cap and the header 25. To the tubular nipple 3| is attached thepressure-relief device I5 which comprises a shell-like housing 34, thereduced or stem-like portion 35 of which is secured, by a screw-threadconnection, within the nipple 3!. The housing 35 is formed with a ledge36 on which is carried a suitable seal 31, the seal being of such acharacter that it will fracture under excessive pressure set up withinthe extinguisher. The seal 3'1 is maintained in gas-tight engagementwith the seat 36 by a tubular gland nut 38 carried within the internallyscrew-threaded portion of the housing 34. In order to protect the seal3? against tampering and in order to preclude undue entrance of anyforeign matter within the central opening of the gland nut 38, there isprovided a perforated disc-like shield 40 which is disposed above thegland nut and suitably held within the upper end of the housing 34.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the operatingunit-which includes the cartridge cage, the piercer M, thepressurerelief device l5 and the vent guard l6--may be convenientlycombined with a closure cap, such as that indicated by the numeral 8, sothat such unit and cap will constitute a unitary assembly for use with afire extinguisher initially designed for operation under the action of apressure-gem erating medium, such as carbon dioxide contained within andadapted to be released from a sealed cartridge. However, it will also beunderstood that in cases where it is desired to convert chemicalreacting types of extinguishers, such as the so-called soda and acidtypes as well as the so-called foam types, into a cartridge typeextinguisher, such conversion may be readily eifected by substitutingfor the internal parts or units of such extinguishers the operating unitembodying the present invention. In such cases it becomes necessarymerely to provide the closure cap with an opening adapted for thereception of the tubular nipple 3i so as to enable the operating unit tobe attached to the closure cap in the manner herein described.

It is to be especially observed that regardless of whether the operatingunit is used with a fire extinguisher initially designed for operationunder the action of a pressure-generating medium or is employed inconverting a chemical-reacting type of extinguisher into acartridge-type extinguisher, the pressure relief device l5 assumes thehighly important function of relieving any excess pressure that may bebuilt up within the extinguisher outside of the cartridge i8 and thevent guard 16 (particular reference being had to the annular screen 30constituting an element of the vent guard) insures against the passageof any foreign particles into the pressure-relief device by way of theinner end of its outlet passage, thus obviating any likelihood of thepressure-relief device becoming clogged and thereby failing tocontribute that factor of safety which is required in extinguishers ofthe pressure-actuated type.

Although only one form of the invention is herein shown and described,it will be understood that various changes may be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. For use in a fire extinguisher, a cartridge cage comprising a pair ofsubstantially U-shaped frame members spaced from each other and adaptedto slidably receive therebetween a cartridge, and a cage-bottom-formingmember hingedly carried by one of said frame members and adapted forinterlocking connection with the other of said frame members and servingas a support on which said cartridge normally rests.

2. For use in a fire extinguisher, a cartridge cage comprising a pair ofsubstantially U-shaped resilient frame members spaced from each otherand adapted to slidably receive therebetween a cartridge, means forsupporting said frame members in a normally diverging relation, and acagebottom-forrning member hingedly carried by one of said frame membersand adapted for interlocking connection with the other of said framemembers and serving as a support on which said cartridge normally rests,the resiliency of said frame members being utilized upon establishingsaid interlocking connection to insure said cagebottom-forming memberagainst undue release.

3. For use in a fire extinguisher, a cartridge cage comprising a pair ofsubstantially U-shaped frame members spaced from each other and adaptedto slidably receive therebetween a cartridge, the leg portions of saidframe members being shaped at their upper ends to present a restrictionin the path of movement of said cartridge and thus maintain it againstsubstantial deviation from a direct line of travel throughout at least aportion of its sliding movement, and a cage-bottom-forming memberhingedly carried by one of said frame members and adapted forinterlocking connection with the other of said frame members and servingas a support on which said cartridge normally rests.

4. For use in a fire extinguisher and adapted to be attached to asubstantially flat closure cap provided at its center with a hole; anoperating unit including a vent guard comprising an upper header and alower header and spacing elements maintaining said headers in a fixedand spaced relation to each other with a space between them and atubular screen embracing, said headers and spacing elements, a tubularelement communicating with the space between said headers and connectedto and extending upwardly from said upper header and through the hole insaid closure cap, means for securing said tubular element to 10 said capwith said upper header against the inside of the cap, a pressure reliefdevice connected to the outer end of said tubular element and adapted torelieve excessive pressure from within the extinguisher by Way of saidtubular screen and said tubular element, a cartridge cage attached toand extending downwardly from said vent guard, and a cartridge-piercersecured to and extending downwardly from said lower header.

FRED ALBERT DODELIN.

